Mining ebb cut first-quarter profit 45%, Caterpillar says

By JOSHUA FREED THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Posted: April 23, 2013 at 2:54 a.m.

Credit: Bloomberg
A Caterpillar Inc. front-loader bulldozer moves garbage across the South East New Territories (SENT) Landfill site in the Tseung Kwan O area of Hong Kong, China, on Friday, April 12, 2013. Hong Kong will spend at least HK$31 billion ($3.9 billion) building infrastructure to handle waste through 2021, as it seeks to alleviate a space shortage at Landfills. Hong Kong's current landfill space is predicted to run out in seven years. Photographer: Lam Yik Fei/Bloomberg

MINNEAPOLIS — A slowdown in the mining business is digging a hole in Caterpillar’s profits.